


The Better Man

by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)



Category: Love Actually (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-24
Updated: 2009-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-05 05:34:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseafrew/pseuds/Chelsea%20Frew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark has a late night visitor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Better Man

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Juleet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juleet/gifts).



> I saw this prompt and could not keep myself from writing this treat. The Mark and Juliet storyline is my very favorite in the movie, and I love imagining what might have happened to them next. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to explore one of those options.

The knock on his door was a surprise, to say the least. The neon light on his video player told him it was eleven-thirty. He should be in bed, not having callers. Maybe it was just kids out for a prank. The knock came again, this time louder and followed by a plaintive, "Mark!"

He quickly rose from the sofa to open the door. If he had opened it to find Julia Roberts standing outside, he could not have been more surprised. "Juliet?"

He had seen her off and on since Christmas, mostly off. He was finding it hard work to get her completely out of his heart. He hadn't seen her since…March. Yes, two months ago. That art gallery opening she and Peter had dragged him to.

"Can I come in?" she asked, a tissue to her nose. He could tell from the redness of her nose and the matching red around her eyes that she had been crying. He felt an instant instinct to kill whatever it was that had hurt her. It was a protective instinct that had been with him from the moment he had met her.

"Of course," he agreed, stepping to the side to let her pass, then closing the door behind her.

She made straight for his sofa, perching on the edge and blowing her nose. "I'm sorry, Mark," she said as he took a seat next to her. "I didn't know where else to go."

That seemed highly unlikely. Juliet had a lot of friends. But he'd take what he could get and wouldn't question it. "It's fine. I was up anyhow. There's a Bond marathon on."

"I didn't know you like Bond."

"Well, now you do." He offered her the box of tissues he kept on the floor by the sofa. She took three. "Juliet, what's wrong? What happened?"

Juliet sniffled, then softly answered, "Peter's left me."

Mark blinked foolishly for a few moments. He couldn't quite believe his ears. How on Earth was that possible? How could anyone in their right mind choose someone else over Juliet? Even after his promise at Christmas to get over her, Mark would still have given just about anything to have her. "I'm sorry. Did you say Peter left you?"

She nodded and began crying into the three tissues she'd taken. Mark was at a bit of a loss for what to do, so he settled for resting a comforting hand on her thigh.

After a minute or two, she stopped crying, gesturing for the tissue box, from which she plucked three more tissues. Three times lucky? Three times unlucky? He shook away the errant thoughts to ask, "Are you okay? Can I get you anything?"

"Maybe a glass of water?"

Mark reluctantly lifted his hand from her leg and made his way into the kitchen. As he poured a glass of water from the container in the refrigerator, he gave himself a quick pep talk. He needed to remain calm, cool, and collected. It was a dream come true to have Juliet back in his house, but she was in need of his sympathy and support, not his overwhelming desire to have her. He pulled in several deep breaths before heading back to the sofa. Juliet took the glass he offered her with a quiet word of thanks, taking a couple sips of the water before putting it down on the table in front of her.

"You okay?" he inquired again.

She nodded shakily.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

She nodded again. "It's someone he met at a training he went to. He's been seeing her for three months. He's decided he wants to be with her. He packed his bags tonight and left. He said he'd come back for the rest of his things later."

"Oh, Juliet. I had no idea," Mark told her. If he had known, he'd have kicked Peter's ass all the way to Glasgow. Then back again, for good measure.

"I should have had," Juliet whispered. More loudly, she explained, "He's been distant lately. Not around a lot. I thought it was just work stress. I'm such an idiot."

Mark shook his head and put his hand on her forearm, not sure he should really be touching her again, but unable to keep from trying to be as comforting as he could be. "No, you're not. He worked hard to hide it from you until he wanted you to know. You trusted him. He's your husband. Why wouldn't you?"

She offered him a small smile. "I knew coming here was the right decision. You're always so calm and you always know just the right thing to say."

He hadn't had any idea she thought of him like that, but was inordinately pleased that she did. He smiled back. "I try."

"What do I do now?" she asked helplessly.

"Well," he began. "Right now you are going to get some sleep. It's late, and there's nothing that can be done tonight."

"But I brought nothing with me," she protested.

He held up a hand to stop her. "Never fear! I will set you up. As it happens, that girl I was dating last year, Katie, left a few things I put in a box. You can pick something to sleep in from there. All clean, I promise. She was such a neat freak."

"Are you sure, Mark? I don't want to impose."

"I wouldn't offer if you would be imposing," he assured her.

Without any warning, she threw her arms around him. "Oh, Mark, I love you."

Hugging her back, he hesitantly replied, "You know I do, too."

When she pulled herself away, he went on, "Okay, let me go find that box."

As he stood, she grabbed his hand. "Thank you," she whispered.

Smiling down at her, he said, "It's all going to be okay. I promise."

"For some reason, I believe you completely."

She let go, and Mark was free to retrieve the box of Katie's things from his front closet. He had to unearth it from some things he'd piled around it since Katie left, including some cumbersome skis and a couple bags of books, but sure enough, inside the box were some clothes Katie had left behind.

When he returned to the couch, he found Juliet curled up on her side, head on one of his red throw pillows, eyes closed. Setting the box down quietly, he sat on his coffee table right in front of where she lay.

After regarding her wistfully for a moment, he ran a gentle hand through her hair, once again unable to keep himself from touching her. He smiled. He could help Juliet through this, be there for her every step of the way. He knew he could. And Peter's loss would be his gain.

End (24 December 2009)


End file.
